Messages - mtbrider59

Take one of the review courses and see if you can raise your LSAT, also do some research and find out the best regional school in the area where you want to end up working and targeted that school as your top school. If that ends up being Loyola, go for it! The scholarship $$ will make life after law school that much more enjoyable- you won't have to worry as much about cranking out billable hours to make top pay to payy off your student loans. Probably the only downside to Loyola over the others is that its not as marketable if you want to go outside the New Orleans area

Don't let age deter you. I just took my last 1L exam the day after my 50th birthday, now granted as others have said, upon graduation BigLaw might not be the route I take, though given today's job market there might not be many graduates going that route. The other thing you might want to look into, is if there are any public interest/social justice groups in your area- Legal Aid, Environmental groups, etc. and if so speak with some of their attorneys to see if that might be a route for you. Speaking of your area and your desire not to move- is there an ABA Accredited law school nearby- if not check with your state's Bar Assoc. to see what their requirements are- most require graduation from an ABA accredited law school. There are some states, California being one, that don't require ABA accreditation, you can go to a smaller state accredited school or even on-line(read less expensive, though not as prestigious). So if you really want to stay where your at, if your state allows it, a non-ABA school might serve you best

Entirely your preference- I would suggest Reading Comp, as you're probably actually probably pretty good at it;it's just a matter of speed and getting used to the question they're asking. This is the area that I think most can master fairly quickly and its nice to have that comfort level with at least one section before you dive into the logic areas.

Your post is not all that clear(before coming to law school you may want to focus on your English writing skills as the ability to express yourself clearly is imperative in law school(especially on exams)as well as in the practice of law), but it appears to be: if you apply to law school prior to receiving your undegraduate degree, what will they use for your GPA? I think it would depend on the actual policy of a particular school; though I would guess that they would use the GPA appearing on your transcript at the time of your application, though any offer of admission that they might make would probably be contingent on successful completion of your degree plus maintaing your GPA at the current or higher level. It's really a question that you should ask of the admission office of any schools you're thinking of attending.

Don't write the 155 completely off, it won't get you into one of the top national schools but it's probably good enough to get you into a good regional school. I believe this is the first mistake prospective law students make(I know I did) is to get caught up in all the hoopla promulgated here and in various publications that is aimed at what it takes to get into one of the T15 schools, a worthy goal if you're trying to land a job at one of the biglaw national firms. However, finishing near the top of your class at a good regional school is probably going to get you the job in that region at some of the better regional firms. So my advice for any prospective law student is to really figure out where it is that you want to live and target the top regional school in the area and look at their LSAT numbers to figure out what you need to do to get in. And if more time ensures that you'll score high enough to do so, take the time. But if a 155 will do, go ahead and take it.

I personally have found that a hornbook written by the same author as your casebook to be the best aid to use during the course to be best(mostly because they'll refer to the same cases) I've used both the concise(good because its generally shorter than most horn books) and the Understanding series not as short but for a a resource for referencing during the semester for topics you just don't quite get, a good bet.I also prefer the Crunchtime series for exam prep- you get a bit of everything; a flowchart(helpful if you're a visual learner like me), a summary (a written explanation of key points though not as thorough as a hornbook, exam tips(good to point out typical frequently tested issues by profs) Exam examples-0 both short answer and essay. I'd agree with others and wait til the first classes to see what profs reccommend before going out and buying anything, also check to see what the library or school might have on reserve for student use.

Also bring:1) an open mind, cause if you're adamantly stuck to one opinion on something, the prof will probably nail you for it2) a sense of humor, not all of it has to be serious, sometimes a lighter viewpoint can reveal nuances you might not otherwise find in taking it all serious,and 3) a thick skin- you'll likely at some point be criticized or told you're wrong by the prof- take it in stride its part of the learning experienceand finally 4)respect for your classmates- they're all intelligent or they wouldn't be there plus you're likely to learn as much if not more from them than the prof

Definitely focus on locking in that 170+, cause if the plus is high enough you could probably pretty much write your own ticket. Outside of the T14, you should also think about where you want to practice after law school and check out the top regional school for that area as well as your grades/LSAT would almost certainly qualify you for admission there as well.